Anthony Doesburg of the NZ Herald writes in an opinion piece about New Zealand’s faltering efforts to develop green alternative energy technologies.
Technologies under development include one that will use algae, grown on sewage ponds, to produce oil – while the technology shows promise, it will not be commercially viable for some time.
Other alternatives, such as wind energy and tidal energy, are finding themselves becalmed in court, or due to lack of funds.
An excerpt: (read in full here)
“Two big projects are held up at the Environment Court and another, which has resource consent so a trial can take place, is stalled for lack of funds.
“In all, projects worth about $1 billion, with more than 1GW of electricity-generation capacity – about an eighth of the country’s present total – are on ice.
“If there’s a hopeful glow on the alternative energy front, it comes from pools of poo. In a fortnight a venture that refines algae grown on sewage ponds will be officially launched in Christchurch by Energy Minister Gerry Brownlee.”